Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on May 25, 2015 by lmharnisch

May 30, 2015, Mystery Photo

This week’s mystery movie was the 1930-31 Warner Bros. pre-code film “Illicit,” starring Barbara Stanwyck (Friday’s mystery woman) with James Rennie (Thursday’s mystery chap), Ricardo Cortez (not shown), Natalie Moorhead (Tuesday’s mystery woman), Charles Butterworth (Wednesday’s mystery chap), Joan Blondell (Friday’s mystery woman) and Claude Gillingwater.

The film was directed by Archie Mayo, with a script by Harvey Thew, whose next picture was “The Public Enemy.”  The script was adapted from the 1930 Broadway play “Many a Slip” by Edith Fitzgerald and Robert Riskin. “Illicit” was photographed by Robert Kurrle with wardrobe by Earl Luick.

St. Petersburg Times, March 21, 1931.
“Illicit” star Barbara Stanwyck is a strong advocate of marriage, St. Petersburg Times, March 21, 1931.

Note that imdb gives the date of 1931, while the print gives the copyright date of 1930. It was in production in September 1930 and released in Los Angeles in February 1931.  Edwin Schallert of The Times wrote (Jan. 18, 1931) “Marriage versus free love receives interpretation in ‘Illicit’ — a picture which judging by all past precedents, is due for a popular reign, even though it may not pass the censors in all localities.”

The DVD is available from Warner Archive packaged with “Girl Missing.”

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Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 33 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: San Francisco Silent Film Festival Celebrates 20 Years

Posted on May 25, 2015 by lmharnisch

Sherlock.WEB
“Sherlock Holmes” starring William Gillette, courtesy of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.

Conceived by Melissa Chittick and Stephen Salmons as a way to share the beauty of early cinema with the world, The San Francisco Silent Film Festival celebrates its 20th Anniversary May 28 through June 1, 2015, as the largest and most important silent film festival in the Western Hemisphere. Exhibiting gorgeous prints on the big screen as they were meant to be seen, the festival extols silent cinema from around the world, accompanied by talented performers in a wide range of styles and instruments. This year’s Festival salutes top stars, exciting new restorations, and fascinating foreign films, with some eclectic programs thrown in.

Two newly restored films highlight this year’s schedule. The long thought lost 1916 film, “Sherlock Holmes,” stars the great stage actor William Gillette in the first feature adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s renowned mystery series, a holy grail for Holmes’ fans. Gillette adapted Doyle’s books about the Baker Street detective into a world-renowned play, which he toured globe-wide for years. Chicago’s Essanay Film Company finally convinced him to star in and produce his version of the deer stalk hat wearing Holmes in 1916, allowing him to cast the film almost entirely with actors who had starred with him in the production. As reviewed at the time, the film omitted any mention of Holmes’ drug use or possible addiction and maintained a deliberate style. It looked good on screen and seemed too long, but the May 1916 issue of Motography called it “Frankly melodrama, well produced…,” with Gillette and Ernest Maupain as Moriarty giving the best performances. It remains Gillette’s only film, as he never completed “Secret Service,” the second motion picture included in his contract.

Mary Mallory’s “Hollywood land: Tales Lost and Found” is available for the Kindle.

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Posted in Coming Attractions, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, San Francisco | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Black Dahlia: ‘Black Dahlia’ Composer Bob Belden Dies at 58

Posted on May 21, 2015 by lmharnisch

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Adam Parker of the Post and Courier is reporting the death of composer Bob Belden, who wrote the orchestral suite “Black Dahlia,” which was released on CD in 2001.

If you’re not familiar with the suite, here’s a selection. I particularly like this clip because it shows the recording process.

 

Posted in Black Dahlia, Music, Obituaries | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Black Dahlia: ‘Black Dahlia’ Composer Bob Belden Dies at 58

Why Don’t Asians Wear Vintage?

Posted on May 20, 2015 by lmharnisch

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We went through a vintage clothing phase in 1974 while at the University of Arizona and working on the Invisible Theatre play “Mad Dog Coll,” which was set in New York in the 1930s. Our vintage suits went back to the thrift stores long ago, but we enjoy the vintage clothing community vicariously through some our friends.

Annora Theong is a vintage clothing enthusiast in Australia – and, as she points out, one of the few Asian vintage clothing enthusiasts. In a recent blog post, she visits the question of “Why Don’t Asians Wear Vintage?” on her blog Nora Finds.  We found it a worthwhile read. Hope you do too.

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on May 18, 2015 by lmharnisch

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This week’s mystery movie has been the 1915 picture “The Coward,” written by Thomas Ince and directed by Ince and Reginald Barker. It was shown in Los Angeles at Clune’s Auditorium in November 1915 with  Dorothy Gish and Wallace Reid in “Old Heidelberg” and Mack Sennett’s “A Favorite Fool” with Eddie Foy and the little Foys.  It will air on TCM on Sunday May 24 at 4:30 a.m. Pacific time as part of the the Memorial Day marathon.

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Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 32 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Griffith Observatory Celebrates 80 Years of Reaching for the Stars

Posted on May 18, 2015 by lmharnisch

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The cover of an undated brochure about Griffith Observatory, courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library

Originally a dream of Los Angeles benefactor and convicted murderer “Colonel” Griffith J. Griffith, Griffith Observatory now stands as one of the city’s preeminent and most beautiful structures. Looming high over Franklin Avenue and visible for miles, the magnificent building stands as one of Los Angeles’ Art Deco jewels. Still radiant after 80 years, the Griffith Observatory stands as a monument to ingenuity and ambition, urging residents to look up to the skies.

Griffith, a wealthy mining speculator, donated 3,015 acres of the old Rancho Los Feliz to the city of Los Angeles in 1896 for use as a public park. In 1903, however, residents turned against him after he shot his wife in the face during a drunken rage. Inspired by a look through Mount Wilson’s enormous telescope in 1912, Griffith offered Los Angeles $100,000 to construct a similar observatory on Mount Hollywood.

Mary Mallory’s “Hollywood land: Tales Lost and Found” is available for the Kindle.

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Posted in Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Parks | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Another Good Story Ruined: Vintage Eateries in L.A.

Posted on May 12, 2015 by lmharnisch

Fair Oaks Pharmacy
Fair Oaks Pharmacy’s neon sign, which was restored and re-mounted on the building after years of languishing in obscurity.

A recent post by the Los Angeles Beat of vintage Los Angeles restaurants included Fair Oaks Pharmacy in South Pasadena.

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Posted in 1915, Another Good Story Ruined, Food and Drink | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo ( Updated + + + + )

Posted on May 11, 2015 by lmharnisch

May 16, 2015, Mystery Movie
This week’s mystery movie has been the 1962 film “The Brain That Wouldn’t Die”  best known in its “Mystery Science Theater 3000” version.

MST3K version 1/9
MST3K version 2/9
MST3K version 3/9
MST3K version 4/9
MST3K version 5/9
MST3K version 6/9
MST3K version 7/9
MST3K version 8/9
MST3K version 9/9

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Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 37 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Colleen Moore’s Dollhouse Supports Children’s Charities

Posted on May 11, 2015 by lmharnisch

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Colleen Moore’s doll house in a frame grab from CBS “Sunday Morning.”

From the beginning of time, people have been collectors. Objects as diverse as paintings, stamps, shells, rocks, postcards, photographs, baseballs, or even furniture have been compiled for the joy they brought to those acquiring them. Individuals such as J. P. Morgan, Henri Francis du Pont, Henry Huntington, and William Randolph Hearst created large assemblages of objects, which are now open for research and visits by the general public. Hearst’s “Enchanted Hill” on the Central Coast of California is now known as the stupendous Hearst Castle, filled with gorgeous and exquisite works of art from around the world, including whole magnificent rooms saved from mansions and castles in the process of being demolished.

Silent film actress Colleen Moore, the effervescent embodiment of the jazz-mad 1920s flapper, collected doll houses and small miniatures from the time she was a child. In the late 1920s, she began assembling what became her masterpiece, a luxurious doll’s house that reflected every young girl’s romantic dreams of what it meant to be a princess. Moore’s “Enchanted Castle,” a Lilliputian relative of Hearst’s “Enchanted Hill,” rivaled the newspaper magnate’s Hearst Castle for its unique works of art and outstanding craftsmanship.Mary Mallory’s “Hollywood land: Tales Lost and Found” is available for the Kindle.

 

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Cafe Frankenstein, When a Cappuccino was 70 Cents

Posted on May 7, 2015 by lmharnisch

cafe_frankenstein_menu_cropped

Here’s something truly awesome: A menu for the Cafe Frankenstein in Laguna Beach with artwork by Burt Shonberg, listed on EBay as Buy It Now for $125.  I wrote about Cafe Frankenstein in 2011 when a group of slides was listed for sale. And in the Beat Era, a cappuccino was 70 cents ($5.69 USD 2015).

Posted in 1958, Art & Artists, Food and Drink, Found on EBay | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on May 4, 2015 by lmharnisch

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This week’s mystery movie has been the 1957 MGM picture “Edge of the City,” which was Martin Ritt’s debut as a film director. It starred John Cassavetes (Tuesday’s Back of the Head Guy), Sidney Poitier (Friday’s mystery guest), Jack Warden (Friday’s mystery guest), Kathleen Maguire (Wednesday’s mystery guest), Ruby Dee (Thursday’s mystery guest), Robert Simon (Monday’s mystery guest), Ruth White (Wednesday’s mystery guest), Val Avery (not shown), William A. Lee (not shown), David Clark (not shown) and Estelle Hemsley (not shown).

It was written by Robert Alan Aurthur, with music by Leonard Rosenman and photographed by Joseph Brun, with titles by Saul Bass. The producer was David Susskind in his first venture into film.

“Edge of the City” was shown in Los Angeles as the second half of a double bill with the now obscure film “Lizzie,” which starred Eleanor Parker.

The DVD is available from TCM in its Greatest Classic Legends collection, with “Something of Value,” “A Patch of Blue” and “Blackboard Jungle.”

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Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 51 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: L.J. Burrud: Hollywoodland Publicity Man and Western Adventurer

Posted on May 4, 2015 by lmharnisch

Jan. 6, 1924, Hollywoodland Sign
Jan. 6, 1924: The Times publishes a photo of an Oakland car that was driven up to the Hollywood sign.

Southern California and Los Angeles exploded into the public zeitgeist thanks to imaginative advertising and publicity from area supporters and officials. Posters, postcards, and lavish illustrations in magazines and newspapers touting glorious weather, abundant land, and great opportunities started the great march westward.

Later, real estate developments around the Los Angeles area like Hollywoodland that successfully promoted themselves as exclusive, elegant, and close to business centers prospered, thanks to creative advertising gimmicks by salesmen. Leland J. Burrud excelled in innovating practices and developing schemes to sell real estate, from bringing in newsreel cameras to record the construction of the Hollywoodland Sign in November 1923 to creating dramatic images of a car posing adjacent to the Sign. He developed his great talent from his multi-faceted film career traveling the American West in the late 1910s and early 1920s.

Mary Mallory’s “Hollywood land: Tales Lost and Found” is available for the Kindle.

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Posted in Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on April 27, 2015 by lmharnisch

May 2, 2015, Mystery Photo

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1948 Eagle-Lion picture “Hollow Triumph,” also known as “The Scar.” The movie stars Paul Henreid (Friday’s mystery guest), Joan Bennett (Thursday’s mystery guest) and Eduard Franz (Wednesday’s mystery guest). It was written by Daniel Fuchs, from a novel by Murray Forbes and was produced by Henreid and directed by Steve Sekely.

A DVD is available from TCM Shop and there is a restored version on Amazon.

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Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 60 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywood’s Pig’n Whistle Draws Film Fans

Posted on April 27, 2015 by lmharnisch

Pig'n Whisle
A souvenir postcard for the Pig’n Whistle, courtesy of Mary Mallory.

Famous for decades as an upscale destination for sweet treats and light bites, Hollywood Blvd.’s Pig’n Whistle soda fountain and candy shop featured elegant surroundings and lighthearted family atmosphere, surrounded by jolly images of happy-go-lucky dancing pigs. A favorite destination for filmgoers and off-camera movie stars long before Starbucks, the gorgeous chain restaurant promoted itself through eye-catching images of prancing pigs.

In 1906, founder John. F. Gage, proprietor of the Hotel America on Market Street, escaped San Francisco with his family after the Great Earthquake and fire, which burned down his inn, per author Veronica Gelakoska in her book, “Pig’n Whistle.” Coming to Los Angeles, the entrepreneur opened a high class candy shop and soda fountain at 224 S. Broadway, next door to City Hall, offering afternoon tea, French pastries, and light lunches as well as excellent candy.

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Posted in Film, Food and Drink, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on April 20, 2015 by lmharnisch

 

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This week’s movie has been the 1934 RKO picture “Murder on the Blackboard.” The film, the second in the Hildegarde Withers series, was released by Warner Archive in a set of six films after being unavailable for years. The first film in the series was “The Penguin Pool Murder.”

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Posted in 1934, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 32 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Ravished Armenia and the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide

Posted on April 20, 2015 by lmharnisch

 

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A still from “Auction of Souls,” in the Washington Times.

For more than 120 years, Armenians have seen slaughter and death at the hands of the Ottoman Empire and the Turks. In 1894, Sultan Abdul-Hamid II ordered the first massacre and harassment of the Armenian population, with more than 300,000 people killed over three years. 30,000 Armenians were killed in 1909 when Turks in Cilicila revolted against Armenian democratization efforts. In 1915, the wholesale slaughter of Armenians began as a result of World War I, when Armenia became separated from the Allied Forces which supported it when Turkey sided with Germany. As Tony Slide reveals in his book, “Ravished Armenia and the Story of Aurora Mardiganian,” Russia invaded Turkey and British and French forces attacked Constantinople, precipitating disaster. On April 23-24, 1915, Turkish police began rounding up 800 leading Armenians in Constantinople, exiling them, and began widespread extermination of the Armenian population on April 24. This year marks the Centennial of the Twentieth Century’s first massive genocide, in which more than one million Armenians were slaughtered, half of the population at the time.

One young Christian girl, Arshalouys Mardigian “Aurora Mardiganian,” suffered horrific experiences during the genocide but survived and escaped to America. Her story of a young girl suffering abuses and ravages came to stand for that of Armenia itself when her book, “Ravished Armenia,” was released in 1918. Mardiganian herself starred later that year in a movie adaptation called “Ravished Armenia,” later changed to “Auction of Souls.” In many ways, Mardiganian represents her ravished homeland, as she was exploited and abused by the very individuals who were supposed to provide help, becoming a bit player in her own story. Her story helped publicize the widespread genocide and diaspora of her people, vividly personified in what little remains of the powerful film.

Mary Mallory’s “Hollywood land: Tales Lost and Found” is available for the Kindle.

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Posted in 1915, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Black Dahlia: Re-Creating Elizabeth Short’s Final Meal Puts the Ghoul in Goulash

Posted on April 16, 2015 by lmharnisch

Dahlia Dinner
An image of the Black Dahlia crime scene sets the mood for dinner. How about some pinot extra noir? 

It takes a special sort of person to think it’s a swell idea to have a pricey meal ($65 per) while looking at photos of the Black Dahlia crime scene. Although I can’t imagine many things more distasteful, I suppose that in a city the size of Los Angeles, there are enough ghoulish people with too much money who will make this a profitable enterprise. The event was part of something called “Los Angeles Eats Itself” and no, we won’t go there.

The premise of this meal, by chef Jonathan Moulton of City Tavern, according Paul Teetor in L.A. Weekly, is that because Elizabeth Short had bad teeth, the meal would consist of dishes that she wouldn’t have trouble eating. Ignoring the fact that she carried a supply of candles with her and plugged the cavities in her teeth with melted wax. Had those who planned the meal been aware of this fact, possibly the table decorations would have included matchbooks and large, plain white candles so that patrons could apply wax to their teeth for the true Black Dahlia experience.

Teetor (whom you may recall from a gushing, unskeptical article about Steve Hodel in the now-defunct Times magazine) falls into the old lie that Elizabeth Short had “deformed genitalia.” Sorry, no. This popular story was concocted by the late Will Fowler, for whom lying was as natural as breathing.

Specifically, Moulton wanted to re-create what Elizabeth Short might have eaten on the last day of her life, quite overlooking the autopsy report on the contents of her stomach, which included feces. There apparently was no interest in going overboard with this accuracy nonsense.

I would suggest that for the next gathering of the grim eaters, the last meal of Bugsy Siegel, who dined at Jack’s on the Beach in Santa Monica shortly before being shot in the head with an M-1 carbine while he was reading the newspaper. And my, wouldn’t all those cartridges and bloody copies of the Los Angeles Times make festive table decorations?  And maybe bits of eyelash stuck to the wall.

Bone appetit, folks.

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Food and Drink | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on April 13, 2015 by lmharnisch

April 18, 2015, Mystery Photo
This week’s mystery movie has been the 1924 First National Picture “Her Night of Romance,” starring Constance Talmadge (Wednesday’s mystery woman) and Ronald Colman (Friday’s mystery chap). It was directed by Sidney A. Franklin from a story by Hans Kraly. The photography was by Ray Binger and Victor Milner and art direction by William Cameron Menzies and Park French. The movie also featured Albert Gran (Monday’s mystery gent), Jean Hersholt (Thursday’s mystery gent) and James O. Barrows (Tuesday’s mystery guest).

I felt it was time to have a silent mystery movie as I don’t do them very often.  “Her Night of Romance” was restored by the Library of Congress and has a mediocre (at best) piano score by Bruce Loeb. It is available from Kino packaged with “Her Sister From Paris.”

Curiously enough, imdb doesn’t give Menzies credit for this picture. The overlords of imdb don’t seem to care for my fixes, so I will let someone else pursue the issue.

You can also watch it here without a score.

 

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Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 52 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Woman’s Club of Hollywood Celebrates 110 Years

Posted on April 13, 2015 by lmharnisch

 

Woman's Club Postcard

Community beautifier, social service agent, educator, historian, and protector, the Woman’s Club of Hollywood has served its community for 110 years, working to make Hollywood a better place. Following the dictums of the City Beautiful movement, the organization worked to beautify and uplift the small town, hoping to increase civic, moral, and personal virtue through educational and civic events.

At the turn of the twentieth century, the little town of Hollywood was slowly becoming more urban: immigrants arrived, mass transit was introduced, churches multiplied, and merchants opened businesses to serve the many farmers and ranchers surrounding the community. Population boomed, dwarfing city services. Organizations sprang up to serve the social, educational, and entertainment needs of the population.

Mary Mallory’s “Hollywood land: Tales Lost and Found” is available for the Kindle.

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Posted in Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Black Dahlia: Don’t Waste Your Money on Her FBI File (Updated)

Posted on April 11, 2015 by lmharnisch

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Some enterprising EBay vendor has listed Elizabeth Short’s FBI file for $20.

Don’t waste your money.

First of all, the FBI had no jurisdiction in the Black Dahlia case, so it’s mostly newspaper clippings and other assorted documents.

Second, the documents are heavily censored.

And third, the FBI has it online for free.

FBI page

Well this is interesting. It seems that the FBI doesn’t want anyone linking directly to Elizabeth Short’s page, because the URL goes to a redirect “This page does not seem to exist.”

Let’s try this.

IMPORTANT: Notice that the FBI refers to her incorrectly as Elizabeth ANN Short. In reality, she had no middle name. A 1971 article in the Los Angeles Times titled “Farewell My Black Dahlia” incorrectly referred to her as Elizabeth Ann Short and the false middle name has been picked up everywhere.

PREVIOUSLY ON THE DAILY MIRROR

The FBI thins its files.

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Found on EBay | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment